A Field Guide to Octorats and Hairless Octorats
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Common Names: Octorat - Hairless Octorat
Kingdom- Animalia Phylum- Chormolluscata Class- Cephalomammaliapoda Order- Octorodentiapoda Family- Muripodidae Genus- Rattupus Species- two known subspecies- Wrinklepodicus and Furapodensis General Anatomy-Physiology Notes Octorats have a total of eight flexible arms, two of which are modified by being shortened for transferring food to the mouth. Octorats are known for tasting, and chewing on anything they can put into their mouths. Octorats are often considered a pest to seafaring vessels, often chewing through hulls, and important cargo. Each arm has two rows of suckers along their ventral surface. Each sucker is usually circular and bowl like in appearance. They are made up of strong muscles, and are used for grasping, as well as locomotion. Muscle contraction allows the octorats to grasp or let go with each individual sucker. Octorats are benthic dwelling, but are known to swim or float to the surface to forage. They can hold large amounts of oxygen in a bladder like organ, and will often inflate this organ to help them float while swimming. Octorats have been known to survive for 3 days out of the water. It is unknown how they manage this. The only calcified bone in an Octorats body, is the jaw, connected to a flexible cartilaginous skull. Their jaws are powerful, giving them great bite pressure for breaking up shells and corals, which they snack on. Octorats are masters at squeezing into small cracks or crevices, as they can fit anywhere their jaws can fit. This aides them in escaping most containment, as well as in entering man made ocean vessels. Hairless Octorats possess the ability to alter their skin pigmentation, much like most distantly related cephalopods. This pigmentation ability appears to be used to communicate emotion (hostility, breeding intent, etc), as well as an excellent camouflage against predators. This camouflaging ability is part of the reason the hairless species remained undiscovered for much longer than the haired. It is suspected that the haired species still maintains this ability, but due to their dense fur, it can not be seen, and as of yet, nobody has tried to shave an octorat to confirm this. Habitat and Distribution Octorats are marine dwelling creatures, and have been found at varying depths. While able to swim, they prefer climbing and 'walking' along ocean floors and reefs. While the haired variant of Octorat can be found all over the world's oceans, the hairless are more specifically located in tropical areas due to their trouble with thermoregulation. Longevity and Reproduction There does not appear to be a set season for Octorat Breeding, however they will only breed once in their lifetime, producing a clutch of 2-3 semi-transparent sticky eggs. These eggs are usually adhered to the ceilings of small caves/crevices. The male octorat stands guard, while the female will rarely leave the crevice when eggs are present, and will often be seen undulating her arms while blowing bubbles from her air-bladder to keep them oxygenated. Females forgo eating during this time. Once hatched, the males often leave, while the females take an active role in rearing their offspring. Octrat mothers are known to be protective of their broods. They blow air bubbles onto their young to help keep them oxygenated in deeper waters. Octorats are hatched with full sets of adult teeth, but have been known to struggle with larger food pieces. Mothers will generally break down their food for them.Octorat young (octopups) will stay with their mothers for up to 60 days. Octorats reach sexual maturity at 2 years of age, but will often not breed until 3-4 years of age. The general lifespan of most Octorats is 6-7 years. While the initial discovery of Octorats occured in 2010 by field biologist Tak of TaksArt, the second species of a hairless variety was not located until late 2014. Tak has been at the head of all of Octorat discoveries since 2010, and has since amassed a treasure trove of research and field journals on these creatures. This is just a small selection of that information. Currently Studied SpecimensAdeliza- Hairless Variety- Studied by Tak of TaksArt
Eoin- Hairless Variety- No current Biologist assigned Ezra- Furred Variety- No current Biologist assigned |